Biography
Biography: Rodney Villanueva
Abstract
Notwithstanding the considerable efforts to increase study generalizability and minimize health disparities, the recruitment of minority and underserved individuals in clinical trials across many therapeutics areas remains to be a challenging task. Despite the increase in the number of countries participating in clinical trials used by the FDA to approve of drugs, racial diversity in such trials has not increased. Drug effectiveness and adverse effects can vary according to the ethnicity of an individual patient. However, when the definition of “diversity” is broadened, other marginalized or minority populations are underrepresented in clinical trials, potentially affecting the applicability of the results of the trials to the population as a whole. This presentation will explore the potential causes of poor participation in clinical trials of ethnic minorities, low-income populations, sexual minority populations, and rural populations. The implications of limited diversity, as well as strategies to address these problems, will be discussed in the context of the study design and methodology, and culturally appropriate recruitment strategies employed.